Matthew 3:1-10
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
John the Baptist was the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus Christ. When people asked him whether he's the one who was to come, he answered: "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." He clearly said that he was there to make prepare the way for the one who's coming. Actually, John the Baptist was not the only one who prepared the way for the Lord. Hebrew 12:13 says that "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." The principle for God to work with people is that God is always the one who's doing the work, and He's the one who can perform miracles; we, however, are responsible for preparing the way for God, so that His work might be accomplished without any hindrance.
How do we prepare the way for the Lord? First of all, we must repent and turn back to God. When God is working, He looks for vessels that are clean. That's why Paul said, in the 2 Timothy chapter two, that "In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." We must examine ourselves daily, and ask the Lord to cleanse us with His precious blood and prepare ourselves, so that God may use us.
Second, if a church wants to experience revival, someone must prepare the way for the revival of God's kingdom, and it must be done through deep prayer. A group of pastors visited the church of Reverend Spurgeon, and the reverend told them: "Let me show you the generator that powers our church." They entered the basement, and found the room filled with intercessors who were praying for the church. This is the secret of revival for the church of Reverend Spurgeon. Brothers and sisters, is your heart filled with revival? You can't just sit there and wait - You must get up and pray, until God's revival comes upon us!
Pray with Pastor Tong
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